Thales and Gemalto have received Regulatory Clearance from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) for their proposed merger, bringing the companies to 6 of the required 14 clearances, according to an announcement.

The companies have received regulatory approvals from China, Israel, Turkey, Australia and Canada, some relating to antitrust rules and some to foreign investment. They await approval from Australia, the EU, Mexico, New Zealand, Russia, South Africa, and the U.S. Antitrust approval is pending from each country in the latter group, with foreign investment clearance also required from Russia.

The original acceptance period for the deal, which the companies reached in late 2017, was extended in August to allow the relevant regulatory authorities time to approve the merger, which would create one of the world’s largest digital security companies. The transaction’s Offer Document was published in late March.

Thales and Gemalto still expect all necessary regulatory approvals to be obtained, and the transaction closed, by the end of 2018.

Gemalto is providing biometric national eID cards to Italy, and recently announced the cards will be available in every municipality by the end of the year.